Wait
by WildlingKnight
Summary: Cia is patient. She waited countless years, countless lifetimes to be this close. She knows the passage of time, the weight of each second, the pull of each minute, the suffocating downward drag of every moment of consciousness and the delirium in between. And she endured.


My first Legend of Zelda work written back in December 2015

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Tired and wounded, he struggles to his feet. His green tunic almost dyed black in the places where it is saturated with blood, some of it his own. He whips around, sword and shield held ready and defensive as he tries to keep the dark replicas in his sights. They circle him, crossing in front of each other as they move in opposite directions, aiming to disorient and give a feeling of helplessness, goading him into attacking first; lowering his defenses long enough for her to move in.

Cia is patient. She waited countless years, countless lifetimes to be this close. She knows the passage of time, the weight of each second, the pull of each minute, the suffocating downward drag of every moment of consciousness and the delirium in between. And she endured.

Now time seems to fly past her overwhelmingly fast as she watches, terrified she'll miss her chance. But when she sees it, time is kind to her. It acknowledges the agony she lived, and stops long enough for her to seize her opportunity with heart burning and pulse racing.

He runs. He thinks he sees an opening to take out two doppelgangers at once, evening his odds. He is intelligent and skilled with a blade, but unprepared for her sudden appearance in his path. She swings her staff and the bulky tip collides with the side of his head, sending him flying and crashing to the marble tile with a cry.

He is dizzy and confused, he tries to regain his senses quickly as he reacts to the echoing of her boot heels in the cavernous chamber. He recovers faster than Cia anticipates, he is lurching to his feet by the time she reaches him, but he is still disoriented and she is able to move behind him and strike the back of his knees with the pole of her staff. He falls, grunting and only just catching himself with his hands. She moves around to his front as he pushes up onto his knees to regain his footing again and she rewards him with the back of her hand and all her might behind it.

He sprawls on his side and she kicks him in the stomach. His chain mail does nothing to cushion the blow and he curls in on himself, choking back a sound almost like a sob. The sound excites her and she shows her teeth in a dangerous smile.

Pushing at his upturned shoulder with her boot, she rolls him onto his back. He moves easily, panting and bleeding from his split lip. He stares up at her through half lidded eyes clouded with pain as she moves to his head, standing over him and maneuvering her staff into both hands.

The mace head rests against the back of her shoulder as the shaft pushes into the curve of her waist. She lifts a hand to shield her eyes from the light as she feigns looking into the distance at an imagined target. She then uses both hands to swing the staff out at her side and smiles down at hero as his eyes clear just enough to show he understands. He doesn't move fast enough however and the smaller gem at the bottom clips his face as she brings it down, twisting through the swing for extra momentum and power.

He cries out again and rolls to the side. There is a light skittering sound and Cia wonders if it is teeth and how many before deciding she'll find out later when she tastes the blood of his broken mouth.

Motioning with her staff, she silently orders the Dark Links dutifully standing by to drag her hero upright and pin him to the nearest wall. They hold him there as he struggles, breathing hard and spitting blood down his front as he fights not to swallow it. She saunters closer, lifting his head and forcing him to look at her by a hand under his jaw before stepping back and to the side and launching another powerful swing at his unguarded belly. He screams and tries to curl in on himself but is hindered by his dark replicas, keeping him upright even as his knees give out and he sags in their grasp.

"You don't love me. You may even hate me." She steps in close again and she can see him trying to summon the strength to stand tall and defiant. "You will come to fear me." She lifts his head again and looks tenderly into his eyes, hearing his already labored breathing hitch as she strokes his cheek, smearing his blood across his face. "But in time I will make you fear to be without me." He chooses this moment to spit more blood in her direction. "Evidently it will take time." She grips his jaw with one hand tightly, nails digging into his skin as his eyes burn insolently into hers as though daring her to try.

"But Goddesses know I can wait."

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Let me know what you think :)


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